Hiromitsu Shinkawa Is The Human Face Of Huge Horror In Japan

JAPAN Earthquake: Every disaster of unimaginable horror and magnitude needs a single human face to make it real to those of us tuning in to watch on the telly. The Australian floods introduced the world to Jordan Rice. Hiromitsu Shinkawa, 60, was luckier. He was found drifting nine miles off the coast of Minamisoma.

Want to try to imagine what he was thinking? Mr Shinkawa helps us to wonder by saying to a news agency:

“Several helicopters and ships passed by, but none of them noticed me… I thought today was the last day of my life.”

In Japan, tens of thousands of people might be dead. Countless other lives have been damaged. You can’t cope with the numbers. The figures are not relevant. But one man’s face can touch your heart…